The Power of FriendshipAshi Tsume's story
by Drachesoul
Summary: After opening her heart to a wolf demon, Ashi Tsume has lived her whole life alone. When the Village hidden in the Leaves calls on her village for help, she goes along, and she meets a boy named Kiba. Together, they go on a mission to save the village.


Hey, so my friend is writing a Naruto fanfiction— Starlight Flower- go check it out. This is the back-story of my OC, Ashi. Will be writing the backstories for other characters as well.

Seventeen years ago.

The villagers could barely see through the milky darkness. Even the stars, normally bright and luminous from where they stood had blinked out. That was when the rumbling began.

Earthquakes were an uncommon occurrence in the Village Hidden in the Shadows, but this one felt different. It somehow felt evil. A crack tore through the center of the village, and a shadowy mist exuded from the fissure. People started screaming as the mist coalesced into the form of a wolf.

"Run from my power, you pathetic humans!" it cried, baring fangs a startling white against its ebony fur. An old man stumbled and fell to the ground, a rusty shuriken clasped in his right demon and it leapt for the frail body. Its claws passed through the man, without leaving a mark upon his skin. But the poor victim began to shake convulsively, and a stream of brightly colored chakra flowed from him into the demon wolf, strengthening its form.

"Ah! Now that's the stuff," it groaned, flexing its claws, dragging them through the cobbled streets, ripping up stone and plants. It was so engrossed in its appearance that it didn't notice the group of Jounin ninja silently creeping up on the shadowy demon, hidden in the shadows. A silent gesture from the leader, and…

"Ahhhh!" the beast screamed, as silver shuriken ripped through its translucent form. It whirled around, snapping at the brave ninja, instantly felling one. The fallen Jounin was instantly picked up by a medical ninja and carted off to the hospital. "How _dare_ you harm me!" it roared, expelling a jet of dark fire towards its enemies. The inhabitants of the village retreated into their homes, leaving the ninja to protect them.

A little girl crept close to the demon, ignoring the frightened cries of her mother. She grasped its front paw, and clambered up, eventually coming to a halt on the wolf demon's head.

"Doggie!" she giggled with delight and petted its fur. The demon looked up, and seeing the little human perched atop his head, it began to vigorously shake its head, attempting to dislodge the girl, but to no avail.

"Grrr. Get off of me little worm!" But the demon had to admit, it appreciated this human's lack of fear. She was kind of cute, too…_No! I must not lose focus! I was summoned for a reason, and I must not give in until that reason is fulfilled._ It stopped and stared at the girl still on his head, laughing and apparently enjoying the ride. So it gently lowered its giant head, and used one hind leg to carefully brush the girl to the ground. Her mother rushed forward and grabbed her, scolding her and trying to keep the tears of relief from flowing down her face.

_I was given orders not to harm anybody, save for those who attack me. And I shall keep those orders._ So focused on getting its miniscule passenger off of its head, the demon failed to notice a net of woven chakra falling around it. With a single hand sign from the Jounin that cast the jutsu, the net constricted around the demon, binding its power. Drained of chakra the wolf had no choice but to collapse and lie still, barely able to breathe. The leader, a Jounin of incredible strength, leapt down from a building and proclaimed "We have bested you, demon! No more will you journey into our village, and harm those we hold dear. Before we dispose of you, would you like to tell us who summoned you?"

He motioned to three other Jounin and they added their own reserves of chakra to the net, beginning to absorb the very life source of the wolf. _I wish I could tell you, feeble humans. But there is a force, the same force that woke me from my slumber, that prevents me from speaking its name. _it whispered wearily. _I only ask that you make my demise quick and as painless as possible._ It closed its red eyes as the leader began to chant and prepare the necessary hand signs to wipe the beast from the face of the Earth.

"No!" shouted a little voice. The Jounin stopped as the little girl, the same one who had ridden on the beast's head not a moment before, broke away from her mother's protective hold and ran forward on little legs. She stood before the Jounin and placed her hands on her hips. "I won't let you hurt my new doggie", she cried. She positioned herself between the wolf demon and the leader of the Jounin force.

"Ashi," whispered the Jounin to the left of the perplexed leader. "Please, just let us do our work." He made to grab his little sister's hand, but she dodged it and looked up at her older brother.

"No, brother. You heard it yourself, a bad person woke up my doggie and made it do these things. You shouldn't harm him because of it." She rushed over to the fallen beast and stroked its muzzle.

_Why are you doing this, little human? You heard the ninja. I am nothing but a monster. _

"It's not really for a reason," she replied. "You're my new friend, and friends stick together," she said firmly.

"Enough of this!" shouted the leader. He stared at the demon, rage filling his eyes. "You invade our village and kill one of our elders. My father, no less. And you expect the plea of one little girl to save your worthless hide?" He scoffed and pulled out a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it. A deranged look crept over his face as he threw the deadly weapon at the wolf, ignoring the fact that a little girl stood over it.

"Sir! NO!" Ashi's older brother cried, but it was too late. The bomb flung towards the demonic wolf.

_Quickly, little human, you must save yourself. I am not worth dying over. _The bound wolf attempted to nudge the girl out of harm's way, but she refused to budge. "No. I _will_ save you." she said stubbornly. She spoke a releasing jutsu and touched the wolf an instant before the kunai struck.

_What are you doing, girl?_ The wolf felt the pull of her jutsu and let itself be sucked into her soul, binding it there permanently. _What does it look like I'm doing? _It felt her speak through a newly forged connection._ If I allow you to inhabit my soul, then no one will ever be able to hurt you again. _The demon felt a surge of gratefulness towards the young girl, but its strength was still ebbing. _I appreciate you opening your soul to a demon, but I am dying. And because of this, so shall you. _he whispered, barely coherent.

Ashi felt the power within her diminishing and a rush of weakness dropped her to her knees. She felt the warm arms of her older brother and clung to him, the net of chakra now empty, without a trace of demon or paper bomb. Several other Jounin rushed to her and secured the babbling commander. A medical ninja gently took her from the protective arms of her brother and placed her on a stretcher. The medic tore off the smoldering remains of her shirt and placed his head to her heart, listening for a sign of life. Straining, he was just able to hear a faint heartbeat, entwined with another, stronger heartbeat. The demon was still alive, and resting within the girl! He motioned to her brother and whispered in his ear. His face paled, and he reached for his younger sister, but the medic held him back, shaking his head.

"She will need time to recover. If she pulls through this, the demon will forever remain with her, and people will look at her differently, perhaps even with fear." He called for another medic and together they lifted her up and into the hospital.

"Ashi…" her brother said, running over to join his mother, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

_See? I told you that you would be okay._ The wolf demon heard its new roommate speak to it through the connection.

_I give you my thanks little one. I promise to protect you and teach you from this day forth._

_Okay, mister wolfie. But right now I'm sleepy. Let's rest._

_Good night, little warrior._


End file.
